Water and Pipelines

Some of the below photos show the water pipeline from Lake Mead to the BMI Project. The pipeline was completed in 1943. Prior to that all water in the Las Vegas valley came from artesian springs and wells. During construction of the BMI Plant and housing, water was hauled from wells by train to the site and stored in wooden tanks.

The first two photos below show the location of the pipeline at BMI picture near the present day gate to Lake Mead on Lake Mead Drive. The color photo taken in 2012, is near the same place as the original photo site. Notice the dirt service road is probably the original and in the color version the new, paved River Mts. Bike trail.

The old pipeline of 1943 is still in operation working alongside a number of new pipelines that supply not only Henderson but also Las Vegas. Over the years the pipeline has sprung a few leaks and supported some nice volunteers (see attached) like the cottonwood tree shown at right in a photo from 2004.